Quality Evaluation of Ready to Cook, Pressurized Indian White Prawns (Fenneropenaeus indicus)

Abstract

Indian white prawn is one of the major commercial seafood in the world, which has high value and demand in domestic and international markets. One of the most successful developments in this area is the introduction of High Pressure Processing (HPP), an innovative non-thermal food processing technology, which is successfully implemented by all types of food industries worldwide. Microbial flora of seafood could be minimized through this technology and increased the quality of foods with minimum changes in its organoleptic properties. Raw material was collected from Fort Cochin, India and brought to the laboratory in chilled condition. Prawns were washed with potable water and de-shelled manually. Pressurization of the samples was carried out in a high pressure processing equipment. The free fatty acid content in pressurized and unpressurized samples showed lower values immediately after high pressure treatment. Sensory methods are universally applied for the estimation of quality of food in the markets, retail shops and table of the consumers.